Island Beat Hawaii Tribune-Herald Thursday, March 16, 2017 9 only was she my emotional support and a patron of the arts, but without her, KDEN wouldn’t exist. She and her friend gave us the money for our first show.” The cast for “Murder on the Nile,” a dozen performers total, is led by Hayley Pereira and Stephen Bond as Kay and Simon Mostyn, Stephanie Becher as Jacqueline and Ray Ryan as Canon Pennefather. The story, which Bond says they set in 1935, takes place on a paddleboat steamer going down the Nile. Simon Mostyn and his rich, beautiful wife, Kay, are on their honeymoon. Simon’s former love, Jacqueline, has followed them throughout their journey. When Jackie gets hysterical and shoots Simon in the leg, an audacious conspiracy is revealed and everything is questioned. “We have some performers who are new to KDEN and some who have been with us in multiple productions,” Bond says. “It’s fun to get new people in and get a new perspective.” Becher has appeared in nearly 20 KDEN productions. She most recently played Doralee Rhodes in the Palace Theater’s “9 to 5: The Musical.” “My (‘Nile’) character is particularly fun because she is the jilted lover and it gives me some depth to play, as well as fun being able to be a little on the crazy side,” says Becher, who is an attorney by day and mother of two boys. The role is not an unfamiliar part for Becher onstage, but she says she loves playing the “crazy mad woman, which most people jokingly kid is just like me,” she says. “I work in a very hard area of law, and this gives me a fun way to let off steam and scream or get a little nuts.” She adds that the best part about playing these types of characters is the challenge of playing them as real life as possible. “(That brings out) both the comedy that lies within, but also the poignant depth of why they are crazy,” Becher says. “This can be jealousy, upbringing, tragic moments, vanity, being spoiled, etc. … .” The comedic part of these characters, she says, is relatable to audience members. “I want people to be able to laugh at me and cry with me onstage because they can say, ‘Wow, I’ve been there before,’ or ‘I’ve felt like that.’” The audience will be surprised by the way things turn out, Becher says. “What you think is happening, isn’t necessarily what happens.” Supporting characters are Lezleigh Bignami as Miss Helen, a 60-something, snobbish, bad-tempered woman; Erin Smith as Christina, a nice, sensible woman with an amazingly equable temper; and Mark Rawlings as Smith, a rather dirty-looking young man who is not what he appears to be. Then, there’s Barbara Johnson as Louise and Steven Peyton as Dr. Bessner. Also appearing in the show are Lowden Borgens, Carol Denecker and Roch Jones. For Ryan, he and the character he portrays share few similarities. Canon Pennefather is a priest with a soft side who occasionally acts quite firm, explains Ryan, who also appeared in “Kilauea 1916” and its follow-up, “Kilauea 1916 and Beyond.” He’s not unfamiliar with Christie onstage, either, and played Hercule Poirot in “Black Coffee,” a role that earned him the MOVP Membership Award for best performance and the Khalil Award for outstanding lead actor. “(Canon) is a far cry from me personally in pretty much every way (but) I always enjoy challenging myself to bring an entirely different character from past productions to the stage,” Ryan says. Ryan, who started acting in high school and has appeared in more than 30 plays since 2003, says audiences will see how much the cast members enjoy bringing the best of each character. “I think it’s evident that we are all enjoying ourselves,” he says. Bond warns they are doing the production as written in three acts, so don’t leave after Act 2 or you will never know who did it. “If you haven’t seen Agatha Christie before, you’re in for a good murder mystery with lots of plot twists and red herrings thrown in — that’s a character who easily could be the murderer,” Bond says. “But you really need to pay attention and follow along. It will all make sense in the end.” Tickets for “Murder on the Nile” are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors and $10 for keiki. You can purchase tickets at the Kilauea General Store, Keaau Natural Foods, Most Irresistible Shop and at the door. For more information, call 982-7344 or email KDEN73@aol.com. MURDER From page 7 HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald Barbara Johnson, Stephen Bond, Hayley Pereira and Ray Ryan rehearse Friday evening for KDEN’s upcoming production of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Nile.”
ib
To see the actual publication please follow the link above